Monday night was one of the best defensive showcases of the season so far
By
Jessica Kleinschmidt
Mondays aren't known for being the favorite day of the week, but this week, having a "Case of the Mondays" probably meant you were great on the defensive side of the ball. We saw everything from an infielder being rather selfish with his glove during the ninth inning to impressive teamwork in the outfield. Here are some of the top plays on defense we were lucky enough to witness. Freddie Freeman hit a ball to the left side of the field and into the seats in the Cubs-Braves matchup, but Kyle Schwarber made the catch and tumbled into the crowd.
When the Mariners and Astros battled it out in an AL West showdown, there was a lot of defensive action on the Seattle side of the ball. Jean Segura dominated the ninth inning all on his own, selfishly handling each out to assist the lift over Houston.
Danny Valencia caught a line drive off the bat of Brian McCann down the first-base line.
Jabari Blash was recently promoted from Triple-A El Paso to the Padres' Major League roster, and during his second game of his most recent promotion, he went yard. He also showed off some of his defensive moves with this double play. D.J. LeMahieu hit a fly ball to right field, and Charlie Blackmon attempted to tag up -- but Blash fired the ball to second, getting Blackmon out.
We know Giancarlo Stanton can hit the ball far. Sometimes, when those balls actually stay in the stadium, someone can make those catches. When the Marlins hosted the Phillies, Stanton smashed a ball into deep left-center field. Both Cameron Perkins and Odúbel Herrerawere there to snag the fly ball -- and it was impressive.
It's not breaking news that Aaron Judge's offensive numbers are some of the top in Statcast, but he also has an arm. Judge threw a ball to snag the Twins' Brian Dozier out at the plate -- traveling a total of 262 feet and at 97.7 miles per hour.
During the Phillies-Marlins game, Tom Koehler avoided a broken bat on a play that could have ended in a completely different reaction. Nick Williams slapped a ball right back to Koehler and the pieces of the broken bat just barely missed him. Not only was he able to avoid the jagged pieces of lumber, but he also remained calm the entire time too.
